State Sen. Rob Standridge, R-Norman, honored the legacy of former United States Sen. Tom Coburn with the passage of Senate Joint Resolution 41, which calls for an Article V Convention of States to amend the U.S. Constitution. Coburn is a staunch advocate for a convention and has said it is the only way to halt…
A bill that was an attempt to better address academic concerns and related issues within the state’s two largest public school districts is dead this session. That’s according to the bill’s author, Senate Education Committee Chair, Gary Stanislawski. “Senate Bill 600 would have allowed the people of Oklahoma City and Tulsa to vote to split…
State Rep. Lonnie Sims, R-Jenks, passed legislation to update the statutory income qualifier to claim an additional homestead exemption through the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The qualifier has not been raised since 1997. House Bill 3653 increases the statutory income qualifier to claim an additional homestead exemption from $20,000 to $25,000. The additional homestead exemption…
Save the elephants and their trainers! That’s the call from Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, the author of House Bill 2895, which would protect the elephants and the elephant handlers at the Endangered Ark Foundation, a private nonprofit in Hugo, from potential animal cruelty statutory provisions. “We have a circus in our district that has a…
The House will consider legislation clarifying cities’ and counties’ authority to regulate the smoking and vaping of medical marijuana in public places. Sen. Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, is the author of Senate Bill 1296, which he says is needed to clear up confusion as to where citizens can use their medical products. The bill passed out…
The House Public Safety Committee passed House Bill 4136, which authorizes law enforcement to seize any vehicle operated by an illegal immigrant who has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. House Bill 4136 was authored by State Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, who said the purpose behind the bill was to curb illegal immigration and…
Oklahoma motorists would receive some extra grace on traffic warrants and speeding tickets if two bills that passed in the House make it through the Senate and are signed into law by the governor. House Bill 2885 by State Rep. Johnny Tadlock, R-Idabel, provides that a misdemeanor traffic warrant issued on or after November 1,…
Two pieces of legislation addressing fetal alcohol syndrome passed the Oklahoma House. Exposure of a developing baby to alcohol can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome, which can cause physical, behavioral and intellectual disabilities that may last a lifetime. Nationally, about 40,000 newborns are born with fetal alcohol syndrome every year. House Bill 3406, by Rep….
The Will Rogers High School Community Foundation will induct a new Will Rogers High School Hall of Fame class on March 27. The inductees will join rock-and-roll legend the late Leon Russell and S. E. Hinton, author of The Outsiders. The new inductees include: David Finch (class of 1971), a multi-Emmy winning sports cinematographer who…
The 1889 Institute has published, “Food Deserts – Health Crisis or Mere Inconvenience?” In it, 1889 Research Fellow, Mike Davis, makes the case that “food deserts” are not the crisis that they have been portrayed to be in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. This means recent zoning regulations limiting small-box “dollar” stores are detrimental. Nevertheless, recommendations…